[Wondergirl]

First published: March 26, 2012

I was asked if I would be willing to write a blog post to tell what it’s like to be a fairly new member of AMHD so here it is. I have to say that this whole idea took me way longer than it should have because I have been trying to think of a way to describe being a newer member. The problem is that I really don’t feel like one and never did.

Months ago I was out of work due to a knee injury and had time to spare, since I was limited to doing not much more than watching movies and surfing the Internet. I stumbled upon AMHD accidentally through a Google search for something auto related. I started reading through the posts and found myself forgetting my original purpose of doing a search in the first place.

From the start, I never felt like an outsider as happens on many forums that you could visit. I found that as long as I wasn’t going to act like an idiot, I was treated with respect, even from long-time members. Anyone who has ever been to a forum could probably relate stories of how the long-time members form cliques and treat “noobs” fairly poorly. This did not happen to me. Also, I’m not saying that AMHD is a forum because it really is not. I am simply making a comparison of the people who frequent AMHD and Internet forums.

I found the members to be very knowledgeable, professional, and maybe even a little fun (though I think some of them don’t quite realize it!). The members cover a broad spectrum. You have experts in all different categories of course, but further, there is a great variety of different personalities which makes things interesting. There are people who are too nice. Some people seem to be business only. There are people who have a sarcastic streak but hide it fairly well. I have also found a few people who are cranky like me, but they mean well. And no, I’m not naming names so don’t even ask me. I’m only touching the surface of this as I could really go on.

The point I’m trying to make is that there are some really great people on AMHD, and it’s the people who make the site worth going to. It’s the people who made me feel like I could make a difference by taking a few minutes to answer some questions. It’s the people who treated me with respect from the start and made me feel like I had been around for years….so to write this as a newer member? Not as easy as it sounded at first.

My knee has healed, I’m back to work now, and I’m trying to get my own business off the ground. I don’t have the time to spend on AMHD that I used to have, but I do try to pop in as often as I can. Having been around for a few months now, it is something I have become used to and don’t plan on giving up any time soon.